Carry On My Wayward Souls
by Chucychito
Summary: After hearing about the case of missing children around Mount Ebott, John decides to investigate, and leaves Dean and Sam at a hotel while he's hunting. But after a week of staying in a locked hotel room, the boys are low on supplies, and venture out to go grocery shopping. Things do not go as planned, and thus the game begins.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or Undertale. I'm just an obsessed fan of both.**

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Chapter 1

Dean's first thought upon waking up was, _dad's gonna kill me._

The first words Dean spoke aloud were, "son of a bitch."

It was his fault, really, why they were in this mess.

John, as usual, had planted his two sons in a hotel for a few days while he ran off to hunt a monster. The town they were staying in was called Ebott after the mountain on which it resided on, and, according to legend, the place had always been shrouded in mystery. Reports of missing children and strange sounds had been all it took to rope the Winchesters into hiking all the way up the mountain to investigate.

"Best I can think of is a rawhead," John had warned gravely, head turned over his shoulder to look at his eldest son. "I want you two to stay here and out of trouble until I get back, okay?"

"When will you be back?" Dean had asked uneasily as John took another step out the door.

"I don't know; I'll call. You got food and stuff to keep you busy. I'm serious, don't leave this room." John made to swing the door shut behind him but hesitated. "And Dean... Take care of Sammy." With that, the door shut with an audible _click._

"Where's dad going?" Sam asked, a grim sort of acceptance heavy in his voice. At almost eight years old, he'd just been introduced to the world of monsters, and was slowly adapting to the fact that that was where his father disappeared to whenever he left.

"Didn't say," Dean lied nonchalantly, flopping onto the couch beside his brother and picking up the remote. "TV?"

Sam had stared at him with those puppy dog brown eyes for a few seconds before giving in and nodding in agreement.

The rest of the day passed much the same, as did the day after, and the one after that. No, the real problem started almost a full week later.

"Dean?" Sam's sleepy voice drifted from the kitchen, and a few seconds later he and his Spiderman pajamas were padding into the living room, holding an empty half gallon of milk. "We're out of milk."

Dean glanced up from his position laying on the couch. "Do we need milk?"

"I want cereal," Sam protested, once again using the power of his puppy dog features for evil.

"Why don't you have toast?" Dean suggested.

"I don't want toast."

Dean let out a weary sigh and forced himself into a sitting position. Yes, John _had_ told him not to leave the hotel, but it'd already almost been a week, and they _were_ low on supplies. There couldn't be any harm in taking a quick trip to the grocery store, or even the gas station. Plus, staying cooped up in here with an energetic seven year old was slowly driving him insane.

"Alright. Get dressed, we'll go to the store."

Sam's entire face had lit up, and he quickly dashed to his suitcase to find clothes. Dean grinned slightly at his brother's enthusiasm- it was infectious. That being said, he still made sure to exaggerate every step it took him to get ready, just because he knew it'd annoy his little brother.

The town seemed nearly deserted. The houses were few and far between; rundown with almost no vehicles in any of their driveways. Even what little grass there was this far up the mountain seemed burnt and yellow and crunched under their feet. A single rusty car slowly ambled down the street; the driver glared at Dean as he drove past.

This unsettled Dean a little, but Sam was apparently unaware of the sensation of foreboding, and smiled widely as he breathed in the crisp mountain air.

They walked for a few minutes, Dean having no idea where the nearest convenience store was. Fortunately, Sam hadn't seemed to take notice, and helped calm Dean's nerves by continuing to chatter on excitedly about his favorite cartoons and books.

That was until his cheerful rambling broke off in a startled squeak as the _thing_ grabbed him from behind.

Long story short, neither of them had had any weapons, and after wrestling Sam away from the monster (neither of them had gotten a good look at it, and Dean could only assume that it was a rawhead), all they could do was run. And, in doing so, trip into this crevasse and fall into this dark cave.

John was _so_ going to kill him.

"Dean?" Sam questioned tentatively, snapping Dean's attention back to the present. He sounded scared, and Dean once again cursed himself for putting them in this predicament. "Where are we?"

"Couldn't tell ya," Dean replied a bit tersely, scrambling to his feet and squishing the bright yellow flowers beneath him. "but we _gotta_ get back before dad does."

Sammy, still sitting on the suspicious patch of yellow flowers, tilted his head back and looked all the way up to the distant hole at the top of the cave. His face twisted into a confused frown and he swung his gaze back to his brother. "How?"

Dean sighed and looked around the cave. The only light came from the far-off mouth of the cave ceiling, casting everything but the flowers in a dull gray shadow. When Dean turned around, he could see that the cave stretched into a hallway-like corridor and end at what seemed like an intricately designed archway. As far as details went, there was nothing else of much interest down here.

Everything about this screamed danger to Dean. A pathway, underground? And these flowers... They couldn't have grown naturally, so _someone_ had to have actually planted them there.

Someone had _planted flowers_ deep inside a mountain.

Dean helped pull Sammy to his feet and gestured down the long hallway, feigning confidence and doing his best to take the scary out of this situation. "Let's explore a little. We're bound to find something."

He didn't mention the fact that that something probably wouldn't have good intentions, or that they didn't have any weapons, or that they didn't even have food or supplies to survive for however long it might take to get out.

At this point, Dean was thinking he might as well have tried to take on the rawhead.

Sammy nodded at Dean determinedly, and together they cautiously set off down the narrow corridor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:** I'm not very satisfied with this chapter, and if I ever find the motivation I might end up rewriting it, but my main goal is to just complete the story first. Also thanks to everyone who followed or favorited- I didn't expect anything on this story and it means a lot that you guys support it!

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Chapter 2

"Howdy!"

Dean and Sam both jumped at the sudden squeaky voice, Sam falling backwards with a cry of alarm. Dean grabbed his arm before he could hit the ground, frantically looking around for the source of the voice.

"Down here!" the squeaky voice continued, amusement in it's tone. Dean looked down to see a _flower_ peering up at him, smiling brightly and flicking it's gaze between the two brothers almost thoughtfully. "I'm Flowey, Flowey the flower!"

"Oh _hell_ no," Dean growled, raising his foot to stomp on the creature.

"Wait!" Sam cried, pulling back on Dean's arm and causing him to stumble back. It didn't matter, though, as Flowey had already popped underground with a startled yelp.

"What are you doing?" Dean snapped. "It was a monster, Sam!"

"Yeah, but it was just a _flower_ ," Sam protested. "And it didn't immediately try to kill us."

"Well, that was rude." Dean whirled around to see that Flowey had appeared behind them, an annoyed expression working its way across his face. "I'm just a flower," he continued innocently, drooping his petals and widening his eyes to play the part. "Boy, you two must be new to the Underground, huh?"

"The Underground?" Dean repeated suspiciously, suppressing the urge to smoosh the thing for a moment. Flowey grinned widely; somehow an expression that didn't seem right on the flower's face.

"Yes, silly," he said in a singsong voice that really ticked Dean off. "That's where we are right now. Things are a little different down here, but hey- don't worry, I can teach you some of the basics!" That really didn't sound promising, but before Dean could say anything, he felt an unpleasant ripping sensation in his chest. To his shock, when he looked down, there was a bright yellow heart floating in front of him. A similar heart had appeared before Sam, although his was a dark shade of red.

"What-"

"See those hearts?" Flowey interrupted cheerfully. "Those are your SOULs!"

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked aggressively, shifting to stand slightly in front of Sam.

"Your SOUL," Flowey continued patiently, "it's the very culmination of your being. It starts off weak, but can grow stronger if you gain lots of LV."

"What's LV?" Sam asked curiously, peering behind his brother.

"Why, LOVE of course!" Flowey giggled.

Dean literally almost gagged.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked incredulously. "' _Love makes the soul stronger?_ Is this some kind of awful chick flick joke? What kind of monster _are_ you?"

"I'm a flower," Flowey replied, actually sounding somewhat offended. "Anyway, LOVE is shared through little white... 'friendliness' pellets." He smirked. "Don't worry guys, I'll give you some LOVE! Get ready, try to catch all of the pellets!"

"Duck!" Dean cried, yanking Sam down with him as the so called 'friendliness pellets' flew over their heads.

"Hey-" Sam protested indignantly, attempting to shove Dean's hands off his shoulders.

"Come on," Flowey said irritably, tilting his head to the side. "They're not gonna hurt ya. Why don't we try again?" He summoned more of the white pellets, and again Dean grabbed Sam and rolled out of the way.

"Stop it Dean- he's trying to be _nice-_ "

"Are you stupid?" Flowey huffed angrily, flicking his leaves in annoyance. "What part do you not understand? RUN. INTO. THE. BULLETS."

"Bullets?" Sam repeated, face wrinkling in confusion.

"Sammy duck!" Dean yelled in exasperation, dragging his brother out of the way of the white pellets _again._ However,while he managed to throw Sam out of the way, he'd neglected to dodge them himself, and one of the white pellets grazed his arm.

And _son of a bitch,_ it hurt more than he actually thought it would.

Sam shouted as Dean stumbled back, just shy of falling, and they both watched in astonishment as the yellow heart in front of him pulsed brighter and darker for a few seconds.

"You IDIOTS!" Flowey laughed maniacally, face splitting into an unnaturally wide grin. "In this world, it's kill or BE killed!"

"I knew it," Dean said through gritted teeth.

"Why would ANYONE pass up an opportunity like this?" Flowey continued, voice cracking in perverted excitement. "TWO humans at once?" he laughed again. "This is quite the treat!"

A ring of the white bullets surrounded the two Winchesters, and Sam let out another squawk of surprise.

"DIE," Flowey spat, his manic laughter growing louder and louder as the bullets began closing in.

Dean grabbed Sam close and the two sat huddled in the center of the circle, Dean insisting that it was going to be okay, that a freaking _flower_ couldn't take them down. Even if he didn't really believe it, he needed Sam to.

Just as the pellets brushed the edge of Dean's shirt, they abruptly disappeared, and a blast of white fire suddenly shot at Flowey. The flower cried out in surprise and ducked underground.

"What a terrible, nasty creature, torturing such innocent youths." Dean and Sam looked warily up from their position crouched on the floor to see a white, goat-like monster standing before them. She had white fur and paws, and wore a purple dress with a peculiar looking sigil on the front.

"Who are you?" Dean growled distrustfully, tightening his grip on his brother's shoulder. After that encounter with Flowey, he was not very keen on the idea of trusting another monster.

The goat monster smiled gently. "Do not worry, my child. I will not hurt you. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through here everyday to see if anyone has fallen." her smile faltered. "You are the first humans to have come here in a long while, and even then, I have never had more than one visitor at a time. Come with me, I will guide you through the catacombs."

Sam wriggled out of his brother's grasp and leapt excitedly to his feet- it was obvious that he trusted this _thing._ Dean, however, was not as forgiving, and he hung back dubiously.

"How do I know you're not lying?" he asked cautiously.

"My child, I am not going to hurt you," Toriel repeated softly, sounding almost as if she were speaking to a wounded animal. "You do not have to be afraid."

Dean glanced at Sam, who was now standing next to Toriel and fixing Dean with the full force of his puppy dog eyes.

"I'm not afraid," Dean replied stubbornly, because he definitely _wasn't._ Still, he sighed, relaxing his stance and trudging over to his brother. Even if Toriel was lying, what could he do about it? He was barely twelve himself- there was no way he'd be able to take on a monster like her without any weapons. The only thing he COULD do at the moment was hope she was being sincere.

The three of them passed through to the next room- Dean keeping a close eye on Sammy and staying well behind Toriel.

This room was very spacious and _very_ purple, with a few dead leaves scattered here and there across the floor. Toriel purposefully headed up a set of stairs at the end of the room and waited patiently for the brothers to make their way over to her.

"What's this?" Sam asked curiously, gesturing at a small, yellow, glowing star-like object.

"Sammy wait-don't touch it-" Dean warned quickly, but Sam was already reaching his hand out to grasp it.

 _"The shadow of the ruins looms above, filling you with determination."_


	3. Chapter 3

*Blank page* *Whooshing sound* Tadaa the next chapter magically appears!

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Chapter 3

"What did you just do-" Dean began warningly, but Sam merely shrugged and practically skipped up the stairs to meet Toriel. Dean sighed in frustration and ran his hand through his hair before quickly jogging to catch up to his brother, who was now holding Toriel's fuzzy hand.

"The Ruins are full of puzzles," Toriel explained, halting in the center of the purple room. "Ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys." She dropped Sam's hand and walked across a series of five stones, and a faint clicking noise could be heard. She turned back to Dean and Sam. "One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them."

"Puzzles?" Sam repeated enthusiastically, bouncing slightly on his heels. Toriel chuckled and patted Sam's hair fondly; Dean narrowed his eyes at the action.

"Yes, I am afraid so, my child. I am glad to see that you are interested at the prospect of solving them- it'll make the long trip through the Ruins that much easier."

"How long is this gonna take?" Dean asked in dismay, surprising both Toriel and Sam at the sudden sound of his voice. "If we're not home before dad, he will literally kill me!"

Toriel's smile slipped and she avoided Dean's gaze. "Why don't we keep moving?" she suggested, though much more subdued. "We still have awhile to go yet."

Dean knew the goat monster was hiding something, but before he could question her she'd already begun walking again.

"To make progress here," Toriel began, smiling reassuringly down at the two brothers, "you will need to trigger several switches. Do not worry, I have labelled the ones you need to flip."

Dean almost asked why, but she was already taking a few steps away, leaving them some space.

"Look, there's a switch!" Sam said excitedly to Dean, pointing at a yellow lever sticking out of the wall. As promised, there was a note in bright yellow beside it, reading,

 _"Please flip this switch! -Toriel"_

Dean thought it was a bit odd that the goat monster- _Toriel-_ had had all of this set up for them when she'd said she rarely saw visitors, but once again, managed to hold his tongue. Under normal circumstances, he probably would've said something, but he didn't want to endanger Sammy any more than he absolutely had to, and he figured that would be pushing his luck at the moment.

Instead, he followed Sam as he bounced enthusiastically over to the wall and reached up to pull down the lever. There was a light rumbling sound, and Toriel grinned brightly at Sam.

"There's just one more," she promised, crossing over to the other half of the room. Sam quickly scrambled after her, Dean lagging slightly behind with his hands in his pockets.

There were two switches on this half of the area, but only one had the bright yellow markings with Toriel's neat handwriting. With a laughably serious expression, Sam stood on his toes and reached up to pull it down.

"Splendid! I am proud of you, little one!" Toriel praised, and Sam practically _glowed_ at the compliment. "Let us move on to the next room.

"As humans living in the Underground, monsters may attack you," Toriel warned gravely, and both Dean and Sam froze at the sudden implications.

"There are other monsters here?" Dean asked in alarm.

"Don't worry," Toriel said kindly, "you will just need to be prepared for this situation. The process is simple- when you encounter a monster, you will enter a FIGHT. While you are in a FIGHT, strike up a friendly conversation-"

"Are you kidding me?" Dean cried in outrage. "Are you really expecting us to have a nice little c _hat_ with a monster that's about to kill us?!"

"Don't be rude, Dean," Sam chastised softly, although he too looked troubled. "I'm sure she knows what she's talking about."

"Thank you, my child," Toriel said, directed at Sam. Dean tried not to notice how Sam straightened up and smiled back at her. "As I said before, there is no reason to worry. You just have to stall for time, and I will come to resolve the conflict."

"But don't we get anything to defend ourselves with?" Dean asked, a slight hint of hysteria in his voice. "You won't always be around to 'resolve the conflicts'! What are we supposed to do then?"

Toriel looked slightly thoughtful, and maybe a little sympathetic, which did nothing to calm Dean's nerves.

"You have nothing to worry about, my child. I WIILL always be around to come save you."

"We don't need you to _save_ us-" Dean words reluctantly died on his lips when he caught sight of the look Sam was giving him.

"What do you want us to do?" Sam asked innocently, returning his gaze back to Toriel. Dean glared at him, even though Sam wasn't paying attention to him anymore.

"Ah, right," Toriel nodded, "why don't you two practice talking to this dummy?"

"Really?" Dean asked with a roll of his eyes. "Are you being serious right now?"

"Yes," Toriel said firmly. Dean sighed but still followed when Sam made his way over to the cotton dummy sitting against the wall. Which, Dean figured, glancing over his shoulder at the goat monster, was a little suspicious in itself. Why was there just a convienent dummy lying around for them to practice 'talking' to?

"Do you want to say something?" Sam asked Dean. Dean scowled and Sam shrugged, turning to fully face the dummy.

"You look nice today," he said, albeit a little awkwardly. Dean might've laughed if the situation were different.

After a couple awkward seconds of silence, Dean coughed and said,

"It doesn't seem much for conversation."

"Ah, very good!" Toriel exclaimed, "you are very good!"

Sam turned to Dean with a smug expression and proudly marched after Toriel as she went through the next doorway. Dean sighed again and rubbed his temple before jogging after them.

"There is another puzzle in this room," Toriel was saying once Dean had caught up, "I wonder if you can solve it?" Sam rocked excitedly on his heels at this news and Toriel made to stand patiently by the wall.

"What do you think it is?" he eagerly asked Dean. Dean shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm sure you can solve it, though." Sam grinned and catiously started exploring the room they were in.

Everything down here looked the same. The walls and floor were both the same shade of purple, and occasionally there were leaves littering the floor of a room. Dean was pretty sure they'd get lost down here if Toriel weren't leading the way, which really wasn't reassuring. What would they do when she revealed her ulterior motive?

"'Stay on the path'," Sam read aloud, startling Dean out of his worrying thoughts. His brother had a confused and slightly guilty look on his face, and Dean realized that it was probably due to the fact that he had strayed _off_ the path to read the sign.

"Well, now you know," Dean said as Sam scurried back to the sidewalk-like path that almost reminded Dean of the yellow brick road (if the yellow brick road was light purple instead of yellow, he thought absently).

Sam scanned the room intently, making sure to not take a single step off the path. Once again, Dean almost laughed at how seriously his brother was taking his task. If anything, Toriel would probably solve it just to show them how. Like a tutorial...

Tutorial Toriel! He needed to remember that one for later.

Suddenly a little white frog creature hopped in front of them, and Dean flinched despite himself at the unpleasant feeling of literally having his _soul ripped out of his chest. Again._

"Hi!" Sam chirped energetically. Dean frowned down at him.

"What're you doing?" he asked incredulously.

"Toriel said to try talking to monsters that attack us," Sam answered, not taking his eyes off the frog thing. "You look really strong."

To both of their surprise, the frog almost seemed to _blush._ Before it could react further, however, Toriel stepped over and gave it a threatening look. The frog glanced at her fearfully before quickly hopping away.

"Did that actually work?" Dean asked aloud as both of their SOULs safely returned to their bodies.

"I told you there was nothing to fear," Toriel said kindly. Dean glared at her mutinously but didn't bother arguing.

Sam peered behind Toriel with a frown, and when Dean followed his gaze he saw a long line of spikes sticking out of the floor, surrounded by water. How were they supposed to get through that?

Sam asked as much out loud, and Toriel's grin curved downwards. "Well, this is the puzzle, but..." she glanced again at the spikes. "Here, take my hand." She held out her hand, and Sam took it without hesitation. She held another out to Dean, but he backed away and put his hand on Sam's shoulder. Toriel sighed a little sadly, before cautiously stepping forward onto the path of spikes.

"Wait-" Sam squeaked, but to both his and Dean's surprise, the spikes retreated back into the floor before she could impale herself.

"What...?" Sam had a very concentrated look on his face, and Dean could practically see the wheels turning in his head. "How did you do that?"

"It's a puzzle," Toriel repeated. "You have to know the exact path to proceed. Keep close to me, and we will make it across safely."

Dean was pretty skeptical, to say the least, but he kept quiet and carefully followed Toriel and Sam's movements, keeping a firm hold on his brother in case either of them slipped.

Finally, they safely made it to the other side, just as Toriel had promised.

"Puzzles seem a little too dangerous right now," she said apologetically.

But why were there dangerous puzzles down here in the first place? What were the point of these traps? Nothing was making sense.

"You two have done excellently thus far," Toriel praised warmly after they'd all entered the next room. "However, I have a difficult request to ask of you."

Dean immediately tensed, regaining a protective grip on Sam's shoulder. Toriel continued. "I would like you two to walk to the end of the room by yourself. Forgive me for this."

"Wait, what's going-" before Dean could even finish the sentence, Toriel had disappeared down the long hallway.

"Why did she leave?" Sam asked nervously, glancing up at Dean with that horrible kicked puppy expression.

"Um," Dean said uncertainly, looking around the room for any potential threats. "I don't know. But we don't exactly have any other options except to keep going."

"I don't think she wants to hurt us," Sam mused, having picked up on Dean's action. "She seems really nice."

"I hope you're right," Dean sighed with a shake of his head, "but we still have to be careful."

"I know," Sam said quietly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh boy, this chapter.**

I'm really sorry it's been so long since my last update, but this chapter is not my best work, and I've been putting off getting it up for the past month or so. Once again, if I find the chance I'd like to re-edit this one, but that might be awhile with school and working on the next chapter (and definitely not avoiding all my responsibilities). Thanks for the reviews by the way- they managed to give me enough motivation to even finish writing this chapter!

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Chapter 4

Dean and Sam stood together in silence for a few moments, assessing their surroundings (which were still virtually the same as everywhere else) before Dean took the first hesitant step forward.

When nothing immediately attacked them, he continued cautiously, glancing back to make sure Sam was close behind.

The hallway really was long- so long that Dean began to forget the immediate danger of the situation and instead grew increasingly bored as the same patterns dragged past again and again. There was nothing important in this endless hallway. Literally nothing.

"I'm still hungry," Sam complained loudly after they'd been walking for a few minutes.

"You're fine," Dean sighed. He ignored the way Sam crossed his arms and pouted behind him.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, they passed a suspicious looking stone column, and sure enough, Toriel reappeared from behind it.

"Toriel!" Sam exclaimed joyously, pouty expression immediately lifting. Toriel grinned broadly.

"Do not worry, my child, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time."

"Why?" Dean asked, a slight edge of irritation slipping into his voice. After all, they really didn't have time for all of this. Toriel's smile wavered slightly.

"There was an important reason for this exercise," she said softly. "...to test your independence. I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for awhile."

"Where are you going?" Sam asked in alarm. Toriel patted his hair affectionately.

"Do not worry, I will be right back," she promised. "Please remain here. It's dangerous to explore by yourself."

Dean snorted loudly but refrained from making a comment. Toriel gave him a concerned glance before pulling something out of her pocket. "I have an idea," she continued, altogether ignoring Dean's outburst, "I will give you a cell phone. If you have a need for anything, just call. Be good, alright?" she handed Dean the box-like cell phone and quickly strode away through the next doorway, leaving the two brothers alone for real in the Ruins for the first time.

* * *

"Well, come on, let's go," Dean said a few moments later.

"But Toriel wants us to stay here," Sam protested warily. Dean waved a hand through the air dismissively.

"Come on, Sam, we'll be fine. Do you really think I'd let us get hurt down here?"

"No," Sam said slowly, frowning as he struggled with the two options. "At least, not on purpose. But she said it was dangerous."

Dean sighed. He really didn't want to wait for _Toriel_ to return from whatever suspicious business she was attending to at the moment, instead hoping this was their chance to sneak away without her noticing.

Sam, apparently, had other ideas.

"Look," Dean finally said reluctantly, running his hand through his hair, "we have this phone now, right? We can call her if we run into any trouble."

"Okay," Sam finally agreed anxiously, giving Dean _that damn look_ as if to guilt trip him for it.

As much as Dean didn't want to have anything to do with Toriel whatsoever, he also didn't want to deal with a pouty seven year old.

"Here," he sighed grudgingly, handing out the phone to Sam, "I'll even let you hold it, so _you_ can call her if you wa- _need_ , to."

Sam's eyes lit up and he grabbed the phone quickly, dialing the only number programmed into it before Dean could even say anything.

"Hey wait- not _now-"_

"Hi Toriel!" he chirped excitedly, and Dean pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in exasperation.

* * *

"There are two directions," Sam said warily after they'd walked through the doorway, gripping the phone in his hands tightly.

"I see that," Dean sighed, "come on, let's go up this way."

"But that's off the path!" Sam protested.

"So there's probably something in there," Dean replied simply.

It turned out it was just a dead end, empty save for a bowl of candy sitting on a stand in the center of the room. Dean thought it was pretty sketchy, to say the least, but Sam was the one who stepped closer to read the plaque.

"'Please take one.'" he looked up at Dean with a pleading expression. "I'm hungry."

"You don't know where that came from," Dean said with a heavy sigh. Maybe they should've just gone the way Sam wanted in the first place.

"But it looks okay," Sam said, a slight whine in his voice. Dean rolled his eyes.

"Fine, take a damn candy."

Sam's hand flashed forward quicker than Dean would've thought, and he was unwrapping one of the candies not a moment later.

"Now come on, let's go." Sam grinned at Dean happily and practically skipped ahead of him out of the room.

After quite a few more irritating puzzles involving pitfalls, spikes, and more monsters (including literal talking rocks?), Dean, turning back to look over his shoulder to snap something back at Sammy, ran directly into another one of the yellow star things. There was that same rush of something that felt like determination as there was the first time Sam had touched one, and Dean hurriedly rushed the two of them out of the narrow room. He still didn't know what exactly they did, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.

The next room opened up to reveal (shockingly) the same scenery as every one before that. The only difference was a small, white ghost-like creature lying in the middle of the walkway, muttering "zzz" out loud as if to convince the brothers it was asleep.

Dean was immediately on edge, roughly shouldering his way in front of Sam and advancing the situation cautiously. It was a ghost, there was no doubt about it, but it looked more like the form of a ghost you'd see kids dress up as on Halloween, not the kind John had hunted in the past. That did not mean they should be any less cautious- a ghost in any form is still a ghost, and therefore, just as dangerous.

The closer Dean crept to the "slumbering" monster, the higher his anxiety level spiked until he and Sam were standing mere inches from its lying form and he could barely see straight. It still hadn't moved or made any inclination that it knew they were there, but the only way to get across was to jump over it or move it out of the way. Dean didn't like either of these options, and was really wishing he'd at least thought to bring salt with him when he'd left the hotel when Sam's cautious voice snapped him back to the present.

"Hi."

"Sammy!" Dean growled in frustration as the ghost gasped in surprise and the brothers' souls became visible once more.

Dean threw Sam a very irritated glance before turning his gaze back to the ghost. It was hunched over slightly in front of them, eyes wide and downcast. It would be almost sad, but Dean reminded himself that it was a ghost and would not hesitate to kill them given the chance.

"Sorry," Sam muttered apologetically, and Dean sighed in defeat, about to answer with a quick "it's okay" when he realized the apology wasn't for him, but for the ghost.

The ghost's mouth twitched slightly. "Heh," it said, seemingly trying to laugh and giving up halfway through.

And then the freaking thing's _tears_ started raining down on them, and Dean yelped when one touched his hand. Seriously? _Acid tears?_ How was that even fair?

"Hey man," Dean said warningly, "leave us alone."

"I know," it said pathetically, "I'd just weigh you down."

Another round of dodging the acidic tears.

"How could you weigh us down if you're floating?" Sam asked with a smile, and the ghost's spirits (ha!) lifted even further.

"Heh heh," it's attempt at laughing was met with more success this time, and, surprisingly, a lack of tears. "Let me try..." it trailed off and started crying again, and Dean braced himself to leap out of the way when the tears lifted upwards over the ghost's head, ultimately forming the indistinct image of a top hat. "I call it "Dapper blook." Do you like it?" it asked eagerly.

Dean decided that if the ghost would only react to encouragement, he'd have to leave this one to Sam, and sure enough, his little brother did not disappoint. He nodded enthusiastically. "I think it suits you."

"Oh gee," the ghost mumbled bashfully, and the brothers' souls abruptly disappeared, efficiently ending the battle. "I usually come to the Ruins because there's nobody around... But today I met somebody nice... Oh, I'm rambling again." It glanced uneasily at Dean. "I'll get out of your way." With that, the little ghost faded out of sight.

Sam turned to look triumphantly at Dean. "See? Being nice works better than being mean." Dean rolled his eyes.

"You just got lucky," he muttered grudgingly. "If that was any ordinary ghost we'd be dead about now."

"Maybe," Sam said, though he still looked unconvinced. Dean sighed in exasperation. They really needed to get out of here before Sam decided that even monsters such as vampires and demons were innocent and could be derailed with just kind words and gentle actions.

With that thought in mind, he marched forward determinedly, ignoring Sam's squeak of indignation at having been left behind as he scrambled to catch up.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey! I'm not dead, I promise. My goal from the beginning was to update at least once a month, and I've let this chapter go a little longer than that, and I'm sorry. To be fair, I have been kind of busy lately and in my free time I've chosen to watch two full shows from start to finish and let them corrupt and ruin my life, so I haven't really had that much time to do some writing. No promises, but I hope to do better with the next chapter. Now, I could make the usual spiel about how I'm not proud of this chapter but I think I'm going to leave it here. As usual, thanks x10 for the reviews and favorites! They're very much appreciated!

* * *

"'Spider bake sale'," Sam suddenly declared, having wandered around the dead-end room until discovering the sign stuck in a few cobwebs. "'All proceeds go to real spiders.'" He looked up at Dean hopefully, but before he could say anything else Dean snapped,

"No."

Sam pouted. "But why?"

"We can't afford it," Dean replied irritably. He didn't even bother asking why the Hell there was a bake sale for spiders in the first place- everything else was strange down here anyway. And in any case, spiders were not something Dean wanted to support.

Sam tried to give him The Look again but Dean purposefully ignored it, turning away so he wouldn't have to face it. "Come on. Let's go."

"But Dean-"

"Let's go, Sammy."

Sam quit arguing after that, but he still crossed his arms and sulked quietly as he trudged behind Dean and back out of the room.

* * *

After what felt like a million puzzles later, a weary Dean and Sam finally stumbled upon a new sight- a large, withered tree, surrounded by a covering of dead leaves. Dean was immediately on edge, but thankfully (or _un-_ thankfully, really) Toriel's voice floated from somewhere up ahead before he had time to become too apprehensive.

"Oh dear, that took longer than I thought it would."

"Toriel!" Sam cried happily, dull eyes immediately lighting up. Dean rolled his eyes.

"Oh my children!" Toriel hurried around the tree and stood before them, eyes scanning both of them anxiously. "How did you get here? Are you hurt?"

"No," Sam said cheerfully. "We met a few monsters and even this nice ghost but we spared them all, just like you said!"

"Not willingly," Dean muttered under his breath.

"That is very good," Toriel praised warmly, not having caught Dean's comment. She patted Sam's head fondly. "I should not have left you alone for so long. It was irresponsible of me to try and surprise you like this."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked suspiciously. Toriel smiled sheepishly.

"Er... I suppose I cannot hide it any longer. Come with me, little ones."

Dean wanted to retort that he wasn't little, that he'd faced plenty of monsters in his short life and did not need to be coddled this way thank you very much- but Toriel was already leading an excited Sam around the base of the tree. Dean exhaled in exasperation and jogged to catch up.

A brick building seemed to be what they were headed towards, and although it seemed pleasantly unassuming, Dean didn't like the looks of it. It seemed that their whole adventure through the ruins so far could only have led them here, and he didn't like to think that there wasn't a proper escape anywhere. What would they do if they had to run away?

Maybe he was just being too paranoid- Dean entertained the notion briefly, with a covert glance at Sam up ahead. Toriel had been nothing but kind and helpful so far, and Sam at least, seemed to trust her.

But even still, Dean thought, setting his shoulders, she was a monster, and after everything Dean had seen, he was less than willing to put his full trust in her. Especially when it concerned his little brother. And if Sam trusted her wholeheartedly, as Dean suspected, Dean would have to be the one keeping a close eye on her, because he couldn't have her breaking his brother's naive heart.

Said brother had stopped short before entering the house, staring fixedly at another one of the yellow star things.

"Why are there so many of them?" he asked as Dean stopped beside him, not lifting his gaze from the glowing star.

"I don't know," Dean replied tersely, laying a hand on Sam's shoulder to gently steer him away. "Stay away from them."

"Why?" Sam asked, looking up at Dean innocently.

"We don't know what they are."

"That doesn't mean they're bad."

"That doesn't mean they're good," Dean countered, a slight edge in his voice. He sighed. "Come on, let's go inside. Toriel's waiting."

"But look-" Sam interrupted petulantly, digging his heels into the ground to stop Dean from pulling him along. He reached his arm out until his fingers nearly grasped the star. "It didn't hurt us before."

"Well then maybe they're nothing," Dean tugged lightly on Sam's shoulder. "Just ignore them."

"Well if they're nothing I can touch it," Sam proclaimed before his hand closed around the luminous star.

"No- that's not what that means Sammy-" Dean yanked Sam away but the effect was immediate- both boys felt the brief wash of an emotion that mysteriously resembled something like determination, and Dean, who's soul had taken a few hits during their adventure, felt his weariness lift and his soul start to repair itself.

"See?" Sam said proudly, grinning cheekily at Dean's bewilderment, "you look better than you did before."

"Don't do that again," Dean warned once his breath was back. It didn't sound very threatening, and Sam's grin just stretched wider before he flounced into the house.

He did feel better, Dean admitted grudgingly as he reluctantly followed Sam inside. But what connection did the star have to it?

"Do you smell that?" Toriel's voice snapped Dean out of his thoughts, and he looked up to take in his surroundings. They appeared to be in a simple entrance way, with two hallways veering off in opposite directions. In front of them stood Toriel, hands (paws?) folded in front of her stomach and smiling as if she was pleased with herself. Behind her was a set of stairs, but Dean couldn't see where they led to. "Surprise!" Toriel continued, and Dean dragged his gaze back to the goat monster. "It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie!"

"Pie?" Dean repeated, coughing to cover up the eagerness that definitely was not present in his voice. Damn her.

"Dean loves pie!" Sam jumped in, and Dean sent him the most livid glare he could muster up. Sam screwed up his face and stuck his tongue out in response.

Toriel, for her part, looked delighted. "Excellent! I see I have made the right choice to celebrate your arrival." Her expression became slightly sheepish once more, and she smoothed her dress out before saying, "I have another surprise for you, but maybe it can wait until after we have a snack? You two look famished."

"I'm hungry!" Sam agreed with an enthusiastic nod of his head. Toriel chuckled.

"Good. I believe it is about time the pie is done anyway- why don't you make yourselves at home while it cools down? I will come and get you when it's ready." She smiled brightly once again before disappearing down the left hallway.

"See?" Sam chirped cheerfully, leaning his head back up to talk to Dean backwards with an impish grin. "She's not bad!"

"I didn't say she was," Dean protested.

"You didn't have to," Sam retorted playfully. Dean pushed Sam's head forward lightly and the seven year old giggled childishly.

"Come on," Dean said, hesitantly heading towards the hallway that veered right- the opposite way Toriel had gone. "Let's check things out."

"You're snooping," Sam said disapprovingly, although he made no effort to stop the elder Winchester- even trotting quickly behind him. Dean snorted at Sam's obvious hypocriticism but didn't comment on it.

"I'm investigating," he corrected smoothly. "Besides, she said to make ourselves at home."

Sam didn't appear to have any more arguments, and, grinning smugly, Dean led the way.


	6. Chapter 6

Ah, the life of a fanfic writer. Promising to update and never delivering. I'm so sorry guys, I'm actually garbage I really don't have an excuse this time. Also, the format might be a little wonky and there may be some spelling errors but I'm updating from my phone this time so if it's noticeable I'll fix it later. As always, reviews are much appreciated :)

* * *

"You're just gonna go in that room?" Sam asked disapprovingly, and Dean paused with his hand on the doorknob.

"Come on, Sammy," he sighed with a glance over his shoulder. "You were ready to go this far but this is where you draw the line?"

"Well, what if it's her room? It'd be rude to snoop around in there."

"Not even a just a quick peek? We don't have to mess anything up or go through any of her stuff."

Sam shuffled anxiously and glanced around, as if Toriel herself would come bustling down the hallway and reprimand them. "Well, okay. But just real quick."

"Of course," Dean agreed. "Wouldn't want to piss off the goat mom."

Sam gave him an exasperated look but Dean was too busy turning to knob and pushing the door open to give it much attention.

It was a relatively large room, with a small bed and a multitude of disinteresting children's toys scattered about.

"Does she have a kid?" Dean asked uncertainly, hesitantly stepping further inside. "Why hasn't she mentioned one?"

Sam, having wandered over to inspect the bookshelf (such a little hypocrite, Dean thought to himself with wry twitch of his lips), coughed heavily and took a step back. "This frame is really dusty," he complained, shooting a dirty look at the offending picture frame.

Dean went to stand by him and took in the box of kids shoes next to the shelf. They seemed to vary in sizes, and Dean tensed with the sudden realization that this room must've been used by more than just one kid.

"It doesn't make sense," Dean muttered, brow furrowing. Unless Toriel was some kind of child kidnapper. But then where did they go? Why was there only one bed and so many shoes? Why was the picture frame empty but still set up on the shelf?

Dean placed a gentle hand on Sammy's shoulder. His little brother didn't seem to have picked up on the same train of thought as Dean, but he looked wary nonetheless, as if he knew something was wrong but couldn't quite place what or why. "Come on, there's more to check out still. Plus, we'll be wanting that pie soon."

The two quietly slipped out of the room and shut the door behind them, turning back to explore the rest of the long, yellow hallway.

"What's this?" Sam asked curiously, poking at some sort of houseplant.

"Why should I know?"

Sam's only answer was a roll of his eyes before seemingly disregarding the plant and continuing down the hallway.

The next room had to have been Toriel's, and Sam instantly insisted they turn around.

"It's rude," he protested with a whiny tone as Dean flipped through the journal on the desk. Every page was filled with stupid puns and Dean was ashamed that he found every single one of them funny.

"I'm rude," Dean retorted dismissively. Sam seemed at a loss for words, and Dean grinned smugly to himself as he wandered around the room.

The bed was considerably larger and the bookshelf stacked to the brim, but other than the bucket of snails next to the desk, everything seemed plain and normal.

"Looks like that plant was a watersausage," Dean commented, having wandered over to the bookshelf and plucked one at random. He snickered. "Watersausage."

Sam, lingering in the doorway, shot Dean an annoyed look. "Really? Are you done yet?"

"Alright alright, fine," Dean returned the book to the shelf and followed Sammy back outside.

The last room had a sign reading "ROOM UNDER RENOVATIONS" taped to the door. When Dean turned the handle, it wouldn't open.

"Locked," he said with a frown. Being denied entry only made him want to go inside all the more.

"So we can can go get that pie now?" Sam asked hopefully. Dean suspected that his brother was less excited about the pie and more excited to see Toriel again.

"Yeah yeah, let's go." Dean sighed forlornly and with one last suspicious glance at the locked room, reluctantly set off behind Sammy's quick pace.

"Oh my children! I was just about to call you! The pie is ready," Toriel said kindly when the two entered the sitting room. She stood by the table where two plates of pie were set next to each other, and Dean almost had to keep himself from actually leaping forward and grabbing one.

"Thank you!" Sam said with a brilliant smile, jumping onto the chair closest to the goat monster.

Dean sat opposite him and looked down at his slice. It did look really good, and he was desperate to eat it, but why? Surely she couldn't have actually just been kind enough to make them a pie. She must've poisoned it, or tampered with it in some way.

Although Sam seemed fine, and he'd already polished off half of his plate.

"What is the matter?" Toriel asked in concern, noting how Dean hadn't even picked up his fork.

Dean looked up warily. "Why are you being so nice to us?"

Toriel's expression shattered but it was gone so fast Dean might've imagined it. "Because you are nice children," she said firmly.

Dean snorted. Sam shot him a glare with his fork halfway to his mouth. "How can we get home?" Dean asked, deciding not to press the subject while Sam was listening and able to use his puppy features to his advantage.

Toriel frowned. "Why do you want to leave so badly?" she asked tentatively. "I think you could be happy here. We could make butterscotch-cinnamon pie and I could teach you what you might otherwise learn in school-"

"We can't stay," Dean said, a tad bit harsher than he meant to, but hey, it needed to be said.

Toriel flinched and Sam glared at Dean incredulously.

Dean forged on while he still had the chance. "We can't," he repeated, making an effort to reel in the urgency in his tone . "Dad'll be worried sick. We have to go home."

"But hunting's no fun," Sam whined, crossing his arms and looking every bit the pouty seven year old he swore up and down he wasn't. "And Dad's mean. Why can't we just stay here? Toriel's nice!"

"Dad is not mean," Dean said with as much conviction as he could muster. "This isn't up for discussion, Sammy, there's no way we can just not go back!"

"You do not understand, my child," Toriel said regretfully, not meeting Dean's eyes. "If you leave the Ruins, they... Asgore, will kill you. You are safe here."

Dean's heart stuttered to a stop but he pressed on nevertheless. "I can fight," Dean said seriously. "I won't let them hurt us."

Toriel's smile was heartbroken. "I am afraid that however strong you are, Asgore is stronger."

"We have to try," Dean insisted.

"Why?" Sam complained, sticking his bottom lip out and glaring hatefully at Dean.

Dean glared right back. "Because we have to, Sammy! We can't leave Dad alone! He'll be devastated!"

"He doesn't seem so devastated every time he leaves!" Sam shouted back, stumbling over the word 'devastated' but not letting it ruin the bite in his words.

"You don't know anything!" Dean threw his hands up. "You're seven!"

"I'm almost eight!"

"Children, please," Toriel interrupted strictly, raising her arms in a peaceful gesture. "Let's not fight." She sighed wearily and turned to Dean. "You are just like the others," she mumbled, before seemingly steeling herself and meeting his gaze. "If you truly wish to leave the Ruins... Then I cannot stop you. I must warn you of the danger you are unnecessarily putting yourself into, however. I doubt Asgore will ever listen to reason, nor will he be easily defeated. And not only that, there are other numerous monsters throughout the Underground who would not take kindly to... Visitors." Toriel gazed levelly at Dean. "Once you leave this place, I will not be able to help you. Please do not risk your lives for this."

Dean took a moment to reflect on the situation they'd managed to find themselves in and silently berate himself once again for letting them leave the hotel in the first place.

Finally, he sighed and said, "There's no other way. We have to go home."

Miraculously, Sam didn't have anything to say. Suspicious, Dean glanced at him to see that his brother was still indeed sulking, twirling his fork absent-mindedly on his plate.

Toriel looked pained, but she nodded anyway. "It is as I suspected," she said quietly. "Come with me, then."

Dean surreptitiously glanced at the pie he'd never even got to try before quickly hopping off his chair. Of course, Toriel had caught the action, and she hesitantly picked the plate up.

"I could give you a backpack," she offered. "To hold any items you may pick up on your adventure."

"Thanks," Dean said, and he meant it. He still didn't really understand Toriel or her situation, but it was clear to see she actually was a nice lady. It went against everything Dean had ever learned about monsters, but even he couldn't deny it anymore.

Toriel disappeared for a few moments, presumably to retrieve a backpack for the Winchesters. Sam, still spinning his fork, didn't look up from his task.

"You have to understand," Dean said quietly. "We really do have to go back."

Sam said nothing.

Dean grimaced. He knew exactly where his brother was coming from, but it really wasn't like they had a choice. Sammy would see that, eventually.

* * *

Don't take my word for it, but I'm getting excited to finally move on from the Ruins, so hopefully I'll be posting more frequently. Thanks for staying with me guys. I'm gonna finish this story I swear


	7. Chapter 7

Oh my gosh guys! Thank you so much for the nice reviews! You're really keeping my motivation going!

So, I've been told that this chapter isn't very good, and here I am posting it anyway, haha. Sorry fam.

Before you read this chapter, I have some things to explain.

First of all, this one is a bit shorter than the others, and is mostly just a transition. I didn't really want to get to the majority of Snowdin yet because then this chapter would be unbearably long and convoluted, so I broke it off a bit early. Also, I skipped the Toriel fight and Flowey's reappearance because this isn't Frisk's story and while there's probably not going to be any major changes, I can toy with the events a little. I didn't know how to go about writing a Toriel fight without Dean fighting back because he would've been so betrayed by the turn of events, and maybe Toriel just thought they might be safer with each other. I don't know. Also there's a fourth-wall break in this chapter that I tried to delete out but I couldn't bring myself to, so sorry about that lol.

Again, thanks for favoriting, following, and reviewing!

* * *

Toriel returned a few moments later, carrying a small, horrendously yellow backpack in her hands.

"Here you are," she said softly. Dean accepted the bag and tucked the plate of pie safely inside for later.

"Follow me, young ones," she continued gravely, and turned for the set of stairs leading to what Dean assumed was the basement. Why hadn't they seen it earlier and investigated? Probably because the author forgot the details.

Thank whatever higher power that Dean didn't believe in that Sam reluctantly slid off his chair and trailed after Toriel and his brother.

The basement was long and dark, and Dean immediately let his guard back up. After all, he couldn't afford to get soft now, of all times. He had to be prepared.

They finally stopped before a large, purple door bearing the same symbol as the one on Toriel's dress. Toriel didn't say anything for a few moments, and Dean took the chance to once again check his little brother.

Sammy was still definitely moping, arms crossed over his chest and eyes never straying from the ground. Two clear scuff lines in the dusty purple floor led right up to the younger boy from where he'd dragged his feet along zombie-like.

Dean, much to his irritation, felt a pang of sympathy for him, but his brother's happiness unfortunately had to be addressed at a later time, preferably when they were back to the surface and didn't have a million different threats hanging over their heads.

"This is the exit," Toriel finally began, voice heavy. "If you truly wish to leave the Ruins... Then I will not stop you. However, when you leave... Please do not come back."

"Why not!" Sam suddenly interrupted, and Dean winced. "Why can't we at least come visit?"

"She doesn't want us to," Dean snapped. He understood- at least, he was pretty sure he did. It made sense for her to leave them, too. "And we won't be able to anyway," he continued, just because he knew Sam would need more reasoning than that. "What? Did you expect us to jump down that freaking hole every weekend to come say hi?"

"We could find another way!" Sam exclaimed.

"She doesn't want us to!" Dean repeated vehemently.

Sam, finally, graciously, fell silent again. He turned to Toriel with pleading puppy eyes but it didn't seem to have much effect.

Toriel looked pained and she closed her eyes to take a steadying breath.

"I am sorry," she said sincerely. "I hope you understand." A beat passed, as if Toriel was suddenly unsure, but then she leaned down and enveloped the two Winchesters in a motherly embrace- one neither had ever really known. If, when she pulled back, there were tears in her eyes, neither boys pointed them out. Their eyes certainly weren't clear either (though Dean would deny it later).

Toriel stood over Dean and Sam with a last, searching expression, as if she was memorizing what the two looked like. "Goodbye, my children," she said, and then she was gone.

"That's not fair!" Sam shouted, stomping his foot in-full seven year old glory. "She just left! Just like Dad always does!"

Dean was absolutely floored by his brother's sudden turn in temper. Was he upset with Toriel? But the kid loved her- Dean was the one who was supposed to be upset!

"Whoa buddy, where is the correlation-"

"They always leave!" Sam burst, reaching up to wipe at the tears leaking from his eyes.

Damn it. As if Dean didn't have enough on his plate, now his brother was suddenly coming to terms with his abandonment issues. Of all the times.

Dean pulled Sam's face to meet his gaze. "They have to," Dean stresses the 'have', "Toriel can't come with us, she needs to stay here. And Dad doesn't leave because he wants to- he's saving people, Sammy." Sam didn't look convinced, so Dean threw out a last resort. "I'm never gonna leave you, alright? So you're stuck with me, at least."

Sam's bottom lip trembled, and he looked a bit wary. "You didn't have to tell me that; I knew that."

Ouch. Shot through the heart.

"Just reinforcing it," Dean said smoothly. "Come on, we gotta get going."

Sam swiped furtively once again at his face before he straightened his back and nodded determinedly. "Alright. Alright, let's go."

Dean stood back up and turned back to the door. A tentative shove proved that it was, in fact, open.

"I'm sorry we couldn't stay," Dean said softly, one foot hanging suspended over the threshold.

Sammy didn't speak, but he grabbed Dean's hand and that said enough. With a shared deep breath, the two crossed into the darkness beyond.

The sudden light, dim as it was, so sharply contrasted the total blackness of the previous room Dean cringed, bringing his hand up as a visor over his eyes. He couldn't see a thing, and he must've jumped a mile high when he felt the ground under his feet crunch.

Dean blinked garishly in the light and stared.

Snow. He'd stepped in snow.

A quick glance up proves that yes, they were still underground. But how in the Hell was there snow? And- a sweep of their surroundings- an actual forest? Yes, there had been the various trees scattered throughout the Ruins, but those could easily be explained by Toriel having planted them. A whole forest, though? Didn't make any sense.

"Wow," said Sam breathlessly, beholding the wonderland scene before them.

"Wow is right," Dean agreed.

The connection finally formed in Dean's head that snow equaled cold, and he hurried to shuffle out of both his jean jacket and hoodie.

By the time he was holding the items out to Sam, he was already freezing in the chilly air. His loose green shirt did nothing to defend against the gusty winds, and he was fairly certain his necklace might get swept away, too.

His hand clasped around the pendant firmly while Sam eyed the jackets skeptically, glancing up at Dean with furrowed brows. Dean shook his arm a little, leg jittering against the frigid temperature.

"Just take it, Sam. You need it more than I do."

Sam looked like he was about to protest but gave in rather quickly, taking both garments from his brother and pulling them on.

Sammy wrinkled his nose, holding up his arms to show how long the sleeves continued past his hands.

Dean snorted. "I'm pretty sure you can deal with it."

Sammy stuck out his tongue.

Dean wrapped his arms around himself and turned back toward the path. It was lined by evenly spaced, snow-covered trees that probably would've served as a good set for a horror movie. There was no other direction.

Sam latched onto Dean's hand once again, extra sleeves and all, and the two set off down the trail.

They had been walking for no less than a minute when they came across a large branch in the middle of the path.

Dean briefly entertained the thought of dragging it along as extra protection against unwanted enemies but discarded the notion almost immediately. It was much too big to even lift, much less carry around for the remainder of their journey. Sam seemed to be in agreement, even though no words were spoken. He didn't even try and move it out of the way like he usually would- "so no one would trip"-, being the irritating good-hearted kid that he was.

They went around the branch and continued on, neither of them giving it much thought.

Until the same branch made an unmistakable snapping noise two feet behind them.


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, so oops, it's been two years, almost three. Sorry doesn't begin to describe how I feel about that, but a lot's happened since I started writing this story. I lost all motivation for this after a close friend told me it wasn't any good, and I dropped it altogether. Despite this, I kept receiving kind and hopeful reviews, and it's largely due to those that I was able to dust off my uncompleted chapters and get to work again! I realize now that I shouldn't have let that get to me, but that combined with my declining interest in Supernatural, I felt like it was only fair for me to drop it. I didn't feel comfortable writing about what I was uninterested in, and didn't think it would be fair for the readers either. However! Deltarune and season 14 got me excited about it again, and that combined with the few hopeful comments finally motivated me enough to continue writing.

I did promise I would finish this, after all!

* * *

Dean tensed and abruptly stopped walking, hand clamping around Sammy's shoulder.

Both of them stood still for a few agonizing seconds, every sense in Dean's body wired and ready to turn and fight whatever must've been following them, but he had to rationalize his thoughts first.

Finally, he turned slowly to look over his shoulder.

The branch that had been much too big to even move was now splintered in pieces across the snowy ground.

But nobody was there.

"Hello?" Sam called tentatively, and Dean moved his other hand to cover Sam's mouth with a quiet,

"Shhh."

Dean forced his teeth to quit chattering and waited for a few more seconds, eyes scanning the tree line suspiciously, before hesitantly returning his gaze to Sam and removing his hand.

"Must've been an animal," Dean said, forcing a relaxed grin. He wasn't entirely convinced. What kind of animals would be down here, anyway?

Sam looked a little unsure as well, though he nodded hesitantly. "Yeah."

Dean grabbed onto Sam's hand and led him onward cautiously. He knew his little brother was more scared than he was letting on (any other time, Sammy would've whined that he wasn't a baby and didn't need to hold his hand), but he kept quiet and continued on in determination, and Dean couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. Winchesters didn't let little things like danger and fear stand in their way!

A shadow flitted past out of the corner of Dean's eye and he abruptly halted once again, all thoughts of a brave little brother shoved to the back of his mind for the moment.

Another quick glance around showed that they were still alone, but there was no denying the warning bells clanging around in Dean's mind at this point. Something wasn't right.

"Dean?" Sam asked uncertainly.

Dean shook his head and breathed out a cold puff of air. "Come on."

He set a much faster pace than before, and Sammy was practically jogging to keep up with the elder's longer legs. However, no complaints were uttered, to Dean's greatest relief.

They were nearing a gate of sorts. Made of wood, seemingly (to Dean) hastily crafted. He'd usually take the time to investigate and ensure everything was safe before walking through what could be a trap, but with the possibility that something was following them, Dean didn't want to waste time, and tugged Sam along towards it without stopping for a moment.

Right before they reached the gate, Sam froze suddenly, sinking his heels in the snow and causing Dean to lurch back and slip.

'What the Hell Sam-"

Dean cut off at the sight of Sam's terrified face and then heard what must've made his brother so afraid.

Footsteps, drawing alarmingly close.

Dean closed his eyes and steeled himself before whirling around to face the intruder.

"Hey! Think this is real funny, don't'cha?"

A figure in a blue hoodie abruptly quit approaching. A figure that looked Hell of a lot like a freaking skeleton.

"whoa there," the skeleton thing said with a tilt of his head. "didn't mean to spook you so bad. here," he held out his hand for Dean to shake. Dean immediately stepped away, pulling Sam back as well. The monster looked disappointed but shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "you two are humans, aren't ya?"

Dean was finding it very hard to speak because what the Hell, so Sam nodded on his behalf.

"well, you don't see many of those around here." The monster shrugged. "i'm sans."

"You're a skeleton," Dean repeated in a strained voice. If a talking evil flower and a motherly human goat hadn't been enough, now they were face to face with an animate skeleton.

"yep," Sans said, grin never wavering. He winked. " that's me, a real, _bone_ -afied skeleton."

That was enough to startle a laugh out of Dean, but he was pretty sure it was mainly a product of shock.

"Um," Sam squeaked, "so are you a good guy?" It was a fair question, Dean had to admit.

Sans laughed, but there didn't seem to be much humor in it. "well, i guess that depends on your definition of a "good guy", yeah? i'm not interested in fighting ya, if that's what you're asking about. it's technically my job to stop any humans that come through here, but eh, capturing you two seems like it would be a lot of work, so i might as well just let ya through. my brother though, he's a human hunting fanatic."

"Awesome," Dean rolled his eyes.

"don't worry, though," Sans continued earnestly, "he's a real good guy. that's him up there. come on, let's go through this gate thingy."

Dean narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You just told us that your brother is, what, "a human hunting fanatic"? We're not letting you take us to him."

"oh well, you're loss." Sans shrugged. "i'm sure i won't get too _bonely_ without the company. you're gonna have to pass him eventually, though. and i'm going that way anyway, so we might as well just go together." Seeing both Winchesters' alarm, the amusement in his perpetual smile faded and he dropped his previously light tone."hey, don't worry," he repeated, "it's safe. my bro's the best, i promise."

"He's not going to hurt us?" Sam asked tentatively. "Toriel said there were monsters out here who would kill us."

"toriel, huh?" For a moment, Sans looked surprised and a little pensive about Sam's words, but after a moment he shrugged casually again. "if i'm sure about anything at all, it's that my brother would never kill anybody. you guys have nothing to worry about. now, ya ready to go yet? you look frozen to the bone."

Sam made a face at the horrible pun, which only made Sans's grin stretch wider. Dean tried to play his own reluctant smile off with the chattering of his teeth.

Sam looked to Dean for confirmation, but the younger Winchester seemed to accept Sans's explanation. Dean himself couldn't deny how resolutely the skeleton spoke about his brother, but that was just it, he wasn't exactly ready to trust a freaking skeleton in the first place. But, his jokes were pretty good, and what else were they going to do? If they waited here too long they would definitely freeze. It was that fact, and that Dean's legs were starting to go numb that he finally gestured noncomittally for Sans to take the lead.

"unfortunately, there's only one conveniently-shaped lamp over there," Sans said as they passed through the rickety gate, "so only one of you can hide."

"We have to hide?" Dean asked, steps becoming slower. "I thought you said this was safe."

"it is." Sans winked. "but that can't stop us from having some fun, can it?"

"That doesn't even-" Dean cut himself off and sighed. "Okay, fine. Sam, go hide behind that lamp."

"What? Why?" Sam asked. "And why is there a lamp out here anyway?"

"why are there two humans wandering around the Underground?" Sans countered. "just go quick, kiddo. my bro's coming."

"But-"

"Sam."

Sam looked hesitant, not even petulant or whiny, just concerned. Dean felt a little bad for the rough attitude, but damn it if the kid could just listen to him once in awhile his stress levels would stay in a safe range.

After a moment of Sam searching Dean's stony expression, he finally complied, and turned to hurriedly make his way over to the child-sized lamp.

Just in time, too, as just as Sam's extra coat fluttered safely behind the lamp, a taller skeleton stepped into view just ahead of it. And wow, the outfit...

"SANS!" the taller skeleton said. "I DIDN'T THINK YOU WOULD BE AT YOUR POST YET. I'M SO PROUD OF YOU! HOW MUCH WORK HAVE YOU GOTTEN DONE SO FAR?"

Sans made a show of turning to look at Dean before he returned his gaze to his brother. "well, not much yet. i made this new friend though."

"OH, HI SANS'S FRIEND!"

Dean waved awkwardly.

"FRIENDS ARE GREAT! BUT WE DO HAVE WORK TO BE DOING, SANS."

"yeah, like human capturing and stuff." Sans winked. Dean figured he couldn't drop a bigger hint if he tried, and he was starting to understand why Sans was so convinced his brother was nothing to worry about.

"YES! EXACTLY! AND PUZZLE CALIBRATING! WHICH BY THE WAY! YOU'RE VERY BEHIND ON THAT! SO MAYBE YOU AND YOUR FRIEND COULD HANG OUT ANOTHER TIME WHILE YOU..." he suddenly trailed off and squinted a little at Dean (Dean was scared- how did he do that? He didn't even have eyes!). "UM. SANS? IS THERE ANY CHANCE THAT YOUR NEW FRIEND IS A HUMAN?"

"who, this? nah."

"OH... OKAY THEN. ANYWAY, I HAVE TO GO BACK TO MY PUZZLES! IF A HUMAN DOES COME THROUGH HERE, I WANT TO BE READY FOR THEM! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE THE ONE TO CAPTURE A HUMAN! NYEH HEH HEH! AND YOU, LAZYBONES, I SUGGEST YOU PUT A LITTLE MORE BACKBONE INTO YOUR WORK AS WELL."

Sans actually teared up. "did you just hit me with a double pun? i'm so proud bro."

"The Great Papyrus" looked absolutely stricken. "OH MY GOD I DID NOT! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS A PUZZLE MASTER, NOT A PUN MASTER! THAT'S YOUR JOB!"

"aw, you admitted that i'm a pun master."

"NO! I- UGH, JUST GO BACK TO WORK!" And with that, Papyrus marched away.

* * *

In the previous chapters, I was mostly just taking Toriel's exact dialogue line for line and replacing Frisk with Dean and Sam. However, I realized that I don't like that format as it seems pretty lazy, and it's more fun to write your own story instead of copying one. Also, this isn't Frisk's story, this is Dean and Sam's, so things are allowed to be different!

The last time I posted a chapter of this, I was barely 16. Now, I'm 18, and graduating soon. In my opinion, my writing's gotten better, and I'm excited to show that off in the upcoming chapters! Thanks to those of you who stuck with me, and for those of you who took/will take the time to read, favorite, follow, or review. It's means more than you'll ever know :) (That being said feel free to let me know what you think!)


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